Last year, the United States Federal Trade Commission released a report that studied 300 weight-loss ads and found that 40% of them made at least one false representation and 55% of them had at least one unsubstantial claim.
The report also noted that before-and-after portraits rarely ever portrayed realistic weight-loss. Some advertisements use two different people- an overweight, normal-looking person for the before photo and a fit attractive person for the after photo. So, if you were wondering how the person got time to color their hair, fix their teeth, and develop a brand new facial structure in that week it took them to lose half their body fat, you now have your answer.
Other advertisements literally pay fit people to gain weight (as many people age, it’s easier to gain than to lose weight), take a picture of the, and use it as the before. The many companies don’t use actual miracle weight-loss stories is because many of them don’t exist-at least with their product.
